Chapter 188

Cheng Lang didn't see her.

He talked to his sisters-in-law in a soft voice, and was quite happy. They were amused by him, and Luo Yining drank his tea slowly.

He is quite good at pleasing women.

Only when someone called Yining "Third Madam" with a smile did she turn her head to listen to what that person said.

When Cheng Lang saw her among them, his smile faded. He had heard that she had returned, but had never seen her.

This feeling was strange. The Luo and Cheng families lived in the same alley, very close to each other. He knew clearly that he worked from sunset to sunrise, and that this person was only a stick of incense away from him. But he couldn't see her, couldn't sense her presence. Unexpectedly, she was here today.

Cheng Lang and Luo Yining nodded slightly as a greeting.

Xie Yun had already seen Tang coming over. Seeing Cheng Lang coming back, she took a few steps forward and took his hand, a smile on her face: "You're back so early today!"

"It's early to leave the court." Cheng Lang also said to Xie Yun with a smile, "I remember you said you would make some soup for me yesterday. Is it ready?"

He didn't even look at Luo Yining while speaking.

Xie Yun remembered that Luo Yining and Cheng Lang had discussed marriage before, and Luo Yining might have some feelings for Cheng Lang. She didn't like the thought.

"It's ready." Xie Yun took his hand and said, "Come with me to try it. I'll let the maid cool it down and wait for you."

Cheng Lang responded, said goodbye to everyone present and left.

"Fourth brother's wife is only like this in front of fourth brother. She is always indifferent to everyone she talks to. In return, fourth brother treats her very well, and he doesn't even have a concubine." Grandma Cheng said with a smile when she saw the two people walking away.

"People say that a romantic man will be most infatuated when he meets the woman he is most devoted to," Grandma Cheng said leisurely. "I think that's probably the case with Fourth Brother. It's quite rare."

Grandma Cheng has never been very polite to Xie Yun, and it is even rarer for her to praise the two of them.

Luo Yixiu was eating melon seeds when she turned around and saw Luo Yining lost in thought. She poked her and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Luo Yining came back to his senses, shook his head and said, "...Nothing."

It was just the passage of time and the changes in everything. How could she not notice Cheng Lang's unfamiliarity and avoidance?

Luo Yining stood up and whispered to Zhenzhu to come closer and listen.

After a while, the women moved to the front hall to admire the plum blossoms, and Luo Yining walked towards the central hall. Cheng Lang was standing under the eaves of the central hall waiting for her. When he saw her coming, he frowned slightly: "What do you want from me now?"

Luo Yining pulled Lu Jiaxue's beads from her bosom and examined them carefully. The small golden Buddha's name was deeply engraved. She spun it around in her hands and then gave it to Cheng Lang.

"Just give it back to him. I can't hand things over while I'm at Luo's house." Luo Yining knew this very well.

It was Lu Jiaxue's Buddhist beads, and Cheng Lang recognized them immediately. He paused for a moment before taking them. Then he said, "Is there anything else?"

Luo Yining shook her head: "That's it." She was about to leave.

Cheng Lang suddenly whispered from behind her, "Do you know... what a terrible and cold-blooded person you are?"

Luo Yining turned her head suddenly, a faint smile on her lips: "Cold and heartless? What do you mean?"

Cheng Lang stopped talking.

"What should I say to you, or to Lu Jiaxue?" She seemed to find it very funny. "If it's impossible, then why should I be gentle to him? If you think I'm scary and cold, then it's up to you... I don't care anymore."

No matter what you do, it's wrong, so why bother?

Cheng Lang watched her leave, his hands almost shaking. Facing her, he actually found it difficult to control himself.

He quietly returned to the study, opened the box he had hidden for a long time, and took out several scrolls from it.

The pages were yellowed. The figure in the painting leaned against a small table, casually slumped over it. Her hair, freshly washed, flowed in a soft, warm tresses, which seemed to carry the sweet fragrance of osmanthus. There were also figures standing, scolding children, or sullen, angry. It was vivid, unopened for years, yet the unfamiliar, delicate face remained youthful, as if frozen in yesterday's dusk.

He drew them all by hand based on his childhood memories.

Sometimes he felt that he should be thankful for his photographic memory, otherwise how could he remember even her features so clearly, and slowly sketch them out as he grew older. This way, he could remember her original appearance very firmly, and it became clearer and clearer.

Xie Yun stepped through the threshold, seemingly observing what he was looking at. She had never seen him look like this before. Longing and gentle. This was different from how he treated everyone else. Sometimes, Xie Yun even felt like there was a layer of distance between him and her.

"What are you looking at?" Xie Yun asked him with a smile.

"Just a few treasured calligraphy and paintings." Cheng Lang said lightly, rolling up the scroll. "Why didn't the people outside tell us? They're getting more and more outrageous."

"It's noon now. I told them to eat first and then come over. Aren't I here to invite you to eat?" Xie Yun said as he put the lacquered square plate of snacks on the table.

"Well, let's go." Cheng Lang locked the box and pushed it into the drawer.

Xie Yun took another look at the drawer, genuinely curious.

*

Chen and the others stayed for dinner. Luo Yining went back to Luo's house first. Luo Shenyuan also came back. The atmosphere in the house was not very good. His face was gloomy.

Qiu Niang carried Bao Ge'er to the inner room to change clothes. Luo Yining put down the rose-infused candy she had brought back from the Cheng family. When she left, Grandmother Cheng had given everyone a box; it was hard to find elsewhere. She tasted one and it was indeed sweet with a hint of rose, a scent that lingered for a long time. Noticing his grim expression, she sat down, opened the box, took out a candy, and handed it to him.

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